Eleven-year-old Lemon adores Grandpa Walt and his stories, particularly the tale of his encounter with an alien named Gnemo, a three-foot-tall green-skinned creature who resembles a living garden gnome statue. Though Walt now lives in a retirement home and Alzheimer's is taking its toll, he and his granddaughter still conspire to prove that he really did meet an alien some 30 years ago. Lemon devotes her summer to the project, with help from BFF Marlo, and Rachel, a science-loving new friend. Coincidentally, an alien craft lands nearby, and the girls begin spying on its crew. While an astounding discovery links their escapades with Grandpa Walt's tale, an alien encounter places them in grave danger. Readers who love tales of adventure will enjoy watching the inventive, intrepid Lemon scheme to outwit the retirement-home nurse, her parents, and an evil alien, only to find herself in need of a rescue by her friends, old and new. With an easygoing mix of idealism, bravado, and wit, this third-person narrative will entertain many readers.

A loopy plan for multigenerational reconciliation hinges on the hunt for little green aliens.Because of a silly rule about unaccompanied minors, 11-year-old Lenore Peabody is forced to sneak through a window to visit her beloved Grandpa Walt at the Shady Elms Retirement Home. As Lenore, known to family and friends as Lemon, explains, Walt is virtually estranged from Dad; thus the covert visits. Walt and Lemon are deep into Project Validation, Grandpa's long-running effort to prove that he actually did encounter a gnomelike alien 30 years ago. All the evidence is kept in a fat binder under Grandpa's bed. Truthfully, Lemon comes to visit to hear Walt's wild tales, casting all the garden gnomes in the neighborhood in a different light. Lemon and best friend Marlo had planned on a Super Chill Summer, but Grandpa's yarn-spinning has set her on a path to verify the story and, not incidentally, trigger a reunion between Walt and Dad. Lyall weaves her earthbound story into the adventure of the above-mentioned aliens-and delightfully so. The chapters have a lively, starship-adventure feel that plays nicely against Lemon's artless storytelling. All the aliens have appropriately gnomeworthy names like Gnedley, Gneelix, Gnilsson, and their leader, Capt. Gnemo. Lemon and her family read White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast.Droll science-fiction elements send this tale of relatable family issues to delightfully surprising places. (Fiction. 8-12)

In a sensitive novel from Lyall (A Spoonful of Frogs), an 11-year-old confronts her grandfather’s gradual decline due to Alzheimer’s disease, a family rift, and a rumor about aliens. Lenore “Lemon” Peabody loves nothing better than working with her beloved Grandpa Walt on Project Validation—seeking proof of his purported encounter 30 years ago with a green-skinned extraterrestrial who resembled a garden gnome. The whole town delights in the oft-told story and peppers their lawns with green gnomes, much to the chagrin of Lemon’s disbelieving father, who demands that she tone down the search now that Grandpa is in a retirement home. After a late-night incidence of flashing lights persuades Lemon that the aliens have returned, she enlists the aid of two friends—one a murder mystery writer with a morbid bent, the other a passionate mycologist—committed to establishing that Grandpa has always been right. Alternating, urgently rendered chapters follow the perspective of bumbling yet charming alien Ensign Gnedley, a plotline that parallels Lemon’s mission as they both seek answers around his kind’s previous Earth visit. Lyall strikes an even balance between heartwarming and heartbreak as Lemon’s independent spark, sharp wit, and deep compassion brighten the pages. Lemon is white; context clues suggest racial diversity across the supporting cast. Ages 8–12. Agent: Molly Ker Hawn, Bent Agency. (May)